The following were all equally imortant reasons why the stalemate on the western front was finally broken.

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

C) THE FOLLOWING WERE ALL EQUALLY IMPORTANT REASONS WHY THE STALEMATE ON THE WESTERN FRONT WAS FINALLY BROKEN. Planes, though initially primitive helped play a part in breaking the stalemate. They were used as recognisance and would fly over enemy lines and report any holes in the German defences. Later in the war, bombs were dropped from planes, but this had to be done manually by the pilot. Machine guns were fitted to the planes and ariel dogfights were engaged in with enemy aircraft, so planes did play a part, but were not vitally important to the war. The tank was a new British invention in 1916. It helped break the stalemate because it was able to go over trenches, crush barbed wire and take out machine gun posts. ...read more.

Middle

In 1916 the Germans tried to destroy the blockade but failed. Whoever won the war at sea won the war as a whole. There were very few battles at sea in World War One. The only major sea battle was the Battle of Jut land. The war at sea was crucial to the outcome of World War One, as the winner would starve the enemy out. In 1915 the Germans sank the American ship 'Lusitania', killing hundreds of Americans. The Germans thought it was carrying supplies and arms for the British. In 1917 the American Army entered the war. Unlike the tired British troops, these hundreds of young, well equipped, well fed and high spirited soldiers were a vital part in breaking the stalemate. ...read more.

Conclusion

The Germans, unlike 1914, had no reserves and were badly fed and disciplined. Between May and August of 1918 the Germans made little progress and defeat was inevitable. The Allies who had supplies and food managed to counter attack. On the 8th August 1918 the Allies reached the Hinderburg Line. On the 11th November the Armistice (ceasefire) was called and the Great War was finally over. All of these factors played a role in breaking the stalemate on the Western Front. The use of planes and tanks helped break German defence lines. The influx of fresh American troops proved too much for the tired German troops. The war at sea played a vital role as it prevented supplies getting through the German troops and people. They are all interlinked in breaking the Stalemate on the Western Front. ...read more.

Related AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 essays

The Ludendorff offensive failure also led to a lack of morale on Germany's part as they had put everything they had into the battle and still come out the losers, and for the second time in the war they had got close to capturing Paris and had lost it again

Schlieffen calculated that it would take Russia 6 weeks to arrange its large army for an attack on Germany. He assumed this for a number of reasons. At the time, Russia did not have an efficient railway network and

Defensive concepts underlay the construction of the Maginot Line between France and Germany. By 1918 both of the requirements for the supremacy of the offensive were at hand: tanks and planes. The battles of Cambrai and Amiens had proved that when tanks were used in masses, with surprise, and on

free and fair elections would be applied with regard to Poland as it must be borne in mind that this was Britain's original war ain in 1939 when it went to war after Hitler invaded Poland. Churchill in particular was aware of the historical enmity that existed between Poland and

The German High Command decided to launch one massive attack to achieve a military breakthrough and win the war. They selected General Ludendorff (a successful German general from the Eastern Front) to lead the attack. The attack began in March and was at first successful in breaking out of the stalemate.

After around a month (in which there was an international influenza epidemic), the Germans made a final offensive. However, the French were now deploying their defence in depth, and the advances were soon halted.

Historians suggest that about 300,000 people died from malnutrition. And because of the conditions back home, this lead to demoralisation of the troops at the Front. However there is another side to the story. We know that there was no attempt to stop the imports from Sweden, Denmark, and Holland.

They weren't very useful but were there as a morale builder for the troops. In fact all the new technology did, on its own, was extend the stalemate as both sides fought each other with the same newer and better weapons.